(a)

considered the report from the Director for Place;

(b)

heard from Mr Marasescu that –

?

he was sorry for what had happened and said that it was inexcusable;

?

he had checked the tyres on the date he had been stopped and knew they were illegal but that he could not afford to put them right due to family circumstances; 

?

he would check his tyres and vehicle daily from now on;

(c)

took the following into account –

?

Mr Marasescu had been a licensed private hire driver since September 2009;

?

in December 2012 the vehicle owned and driven by Mr Marasescu was found to be unroadworthy due to having two tyres worn to excess one of which showing the cord; another tyre was worn down to the legal limit; as a result the vehicle licence was immediately suspended;

?

Mr Marasescu had been prosecuted by the Police in respect of the worn tyres and had been fined £265 and had his driving licence endorsed with three penalty points;

?

Mr Marasescu had his private hire driver’s licence suspended  for three days by the committee in October 2012 in respect of various vehicle defects and had been warned as to his future conduct;

?

Mr Marasescu had breached the conditions of his private hire vehicle licence as he tyres had failed to comply with the legal  requirements;

?

Mr Marasescu has completed Btech in Transporting Passengers by Taxi and Private Hire;

?

an inspection of his vehicle in April 2011 found not faults;

?

motoring offences were relevant when considering the suitability of a person to hold or retain a licence;

?

all that Mr Marasescu said;

?

Mr Marasescu had been found with illegal tyres only 53 days after he had appeared before the committee and had his licence suspended for failing to maintain his vehicle;

?

Mr Marasescu had given assurances to the committee previously that he would check his vehicle regularly;

?

Mr Marasescu had checked the vehicle on the day he had been stopped and knew that his tyres were in a dangerous condition and yet had driven in appalling weather conditions with fare paying passengers.